Herb Companion in the Chicago Tribune

In the October 5th issue of The Chicago Tribune, Herb Companion garden editor, Vicki Mattern, gives advice on how to winter herbs indoors.

"When the first fall leaves start skittering up the block, it's the beginning of the end for your sunny little potager. It's time to cut down the basil, and make pesto while the sun shines. But many herbs can follow you inside to infuse your windowsill with the scent and taste of the garden all winter long. We asked Vicki Mattern, garden editor of The Herb Companion magazine (www.HerbCompanion.com), and Gene Page, owner of Papa Geno's Herb Farm near Lincoln, Nebraska (www.papagenos.com), to give us some tips for growing favorite herbs indoors.

Give them light: Most herbs come from the sunny Mediterranean region and only will thrive in a bright south or east window. Even that, in a Chicago winter, is far less light than the plants get outdoors in summer. Don't have a bright window? Get a grow light—special fluorescent tubes with a wide spectrum—and keep it just 6 inches above the plants for 12 hours a day. ..."